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• Honey moon.

  Sightsee03239337224,2026年6月21日

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Loved the commentary from both the drivers of the Explorer. Went out to the hole in the rock twice. Hope to see a mammal on our third trip out. Saturday 20th June the weather was amazing. The ocean was nice and flat. Sunday 21st June the weather was nice the water was a bit choppy out there.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Great boat trip

  RobynG374,2026年5月30日

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  This tour was great. Taylor the captain was very informative . Due to the weather we weren’t sure if we could get out to the hole in the rock but luckily the weather turned . It was awesome . The stop on the island was a nice break Thanks fullers

• Hole in rock

  Adventure00801285635,2026年5月18日

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  It was beautiful experience.

• Great experience, go for it

  Adish T,2026年5月14日

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Great service. The cruise was well equipped and the staff was very attentive and helpful. The waters were a little chilly that day and the staff was really on their feet with the service and helping passengers with vomit bags and stuff. The commentary was good as well

• Brilliant trip.

  Zoltan330,2026年5月3日

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  This was a fantastic trip. The booking and boarding process was easy, and the boats captain made it easy with excellent communication, so you were in the right place at the right time. We got to see Bottlenose dolphins during the tour and were taken close to the hole in the rock. Unfortunately, the swell was too high for the boat to go through. The scenery was stunning. We had a stopover at Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka Island. There were some good walk options and great photo opportunities. I ended my tour at Russell to look around and got the ferry back to Paihia.

• Hole in the Rock cruise

  P8516QEjudithb,2026年4月15日

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, also lovely vessel and crew

• enjoyed this trip shame about the salesman

  skiersuk,2026年3月29日

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  4.00

  There were good and bad points. The sales person rushed us into buying the 4 hour trip with lunch . Only when we got onboard did we realise that there were other options. He told us the sea would be calm it was not. However we felt safe with the captain who was honest about the conditions and reassured everyone. It was too rough to go through the hole and we did not sea dolphins or any other marine life. The captain gave lots of information and he was kind and funny. The bay is amazing and all we hoped. I did not enjoy the lunch, over cooked dry meat, cold sloppy salads, not for me. Although the sea conditions was not good it was a warm sunny day and the captain gave everyone the option of staying on the lunch time stop over island and catching a later ferry back, which we did. He told us about the walks and we swam in the sea. The water is lovely. We did enjoy the day but wish we had seen the bay at its best, I would go with this company again but next time I would make sure we understood the options better.

• Fabulous half day trip - Hole in the rock

  Lisa G,2026年3月25日

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  This half day cruise was so enjoyable. We saw so much. Commentary was good. Staff friendly. Lunch stop was lovely and we were able to do some kayaking which was a highlight.

• A must do if staying in The Bay of Islands

  411carlyb,2026年3月24日

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We had booked our family trip (two adults, two kids) for Wednesday but wanted to change to Tuesday due to storms coming in. The team emailed me straight back and arranged with no issues. We arrived on the day and lovely friendly crew greeted us. Captain was really informative and funny over the tannoy. He did explain that due to the swells we might not be able to go all the way to the rock and said it could be a bit of an up and down ride, but wanted to keep us all safe so wouldn’t risk anything and would turn back if needed. Very reassuring. Off we set and all going great, gorgeous views and yes a little choppy. Cruising round the bay we saw lots of sea birds and Cooks famous landing spot. The captain warned us to make sure we were sat down for the next section as we wouldn’t have the shelter of the islands as we headed towards the Hole in the Rock. He wasn’t wrong. I felt so rough, I got hot, felt dizzy, queazy tummy, jelly legs (despite being sat down). However the lovely Donna and her team were keeping an eye on all the passengers and spotted my colourless cheeks and headed straight over to check I was ok. She stayed with me, gave me lots of great advice, reassured me and just chatted to me. Luckily, despite the waves we made it to the rock - and it was magnificent. However we didn’t go through the hole as it wouldn’t have been safe to do so. The captain told us all about the history of the rock and after not long we were heading back towards the islands. We spent a lovely 90 mins on the “secret beach” - take your swimming costumes as you’ll want to swim. You can pack a picnic and eat on the beaches or the benches. Or eat at the cafe. You could also go for walks around the island to various viewing points We chose to stay on the beach and hang out there (only 2 days after flying we were fighting jet lag and still quite tired). We were swimming in crystal clear water next to birds fishing. Just incredibly beautiful and well worth those waves! The return to Paihia was a lot calmer and I was glad to be back on dry land, however the cruise was well worth it, the crew were wonderful, especially Donna (thank you) and the captain had us in safe hands. Highly recommend this boat trip if you are in the Bay of Island. We headed for Thirdwheel coffee shop for a delicious coffee and cake post cruises Sadly no dolphins spotted, but this didn’t detract from a great trip out.

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Cattle class service

  HansAuckland,2026年3月23日

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  1.00

  My sister 78yrs came to visit from UK, Probably last time we shall see each other. I wanted to show her dolphins. I booked a hole in the rock cruise 4.5hrs $170 each, We got a $20 discount for gold card,(not advertised) Staff said no guarantee but likely. Friends said very likely as cruises share info with each other and know if dolphins are around and where. Reasons for my low score are The boat was full when it arrived at Russell, no seats were avaliable. We had to stand for most of the trip, painful for elderly ankles. The island stopover for 1.5hrs, sadly lived up to the reviews I had read. I assumed from the terrible reviews improvements might have been made. On entering the cafe we were blasted with loud music of a type more suited to the young staff than to the customers they were serving. Not ambient or supportive of conversation. We ordered some snacks and a pot of tea for 2. We were told to find a table and wait for our number to be called. After 10 minutes I went up to ask and found 2 paper cups sitting on the counter with a tea bag sitting in what was once boiling water. Adding milk from a jug on the counter further ensured the tea was cold. I watched other tourists, experience similar 'service' for meals. Order, go and sit down wait to be called, go and collect if you are called, or go and investigate if the plate sitting there is yours. Help yourself from the large plastic bottles of mustard and ketchup. You can guess the food on offer). Felt like a school camp. Yuck. The cruise did not go through the hole in the rock. I wonder how often it actually does. The size of the ferry would need perfectly still water, unlikely out in the ocean, to make this possible as there is very little gap between the ferry and the sides of rock. Nor did we sight dolphins on the way out or on the way back. I suppose this was not guaranteed but our expectations had been raised for likely sightings. We were regularly advised to keep our eyes out for dolphins throughout the trip and to let the crew know if we saw any unusual movement in the water. I wondered about the honesty of this as surely the crew would have info on whether there were any dolphins in the area. The ferry trip shared some beautiful scenery but all in all it seemed a very expensive ride on a ferry around the bay. I certainly expected a seat. Fullers appear to be, 'packing em in' with more of a focus on their profit than on service standards and care for their customers. I strongly advise others to look for an alternative operator to Fullers. There are plenty of smaller operators who I think my focus more on providing less of a cattle class approach.

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